combustion

I have always been intrigued by the story of the Hindenburg, the iconic airship that caught fire on May 6, 1937. The accident killed 35 of the 100 passengers and crewmembers on board. As a chemistry teacher, I discuss this from a chemical standpoint and the fact that the airship was filled with hydrogen, a flammable gas, rather than helium, a non-flammable gas, as today’s modern airships are.

My students and I intend to use a high-speed camera to film a variety of chemistry experiments in slow motion.The first reaction we have decided to film is the “Whoosh Bottle”.You can read more about this particular experiment i